The Basics
Creating a Character The first step is to have a character concept in mind, do you wish to play a dual-wielding buccaneer? A mystic, forest-dwelling archer? This concept will guide you through the Race, Background and Class you will pick at first level. Every character starts with a random array of ability scores, starting with all 10s. Roll a d4 and halve the roll value, rounded up. If the roll value was odd, subtract the resulting value from your base ability score. If the roll value was even, add the resulting value to your base ability score. You may decide for yourself where to put the adjusting dice rolls and may even add multiple dice rolls to a single attribute. However, the bonus for any attribute may not exceed +2. An example, Borjand, who is planning to make a melee bruiser has rolled a 2, 4, 3, 1, 2 and 3. This means he has a +1, +2, -2, -1, +1 and -2 to distribute. As a melee, durable character, he will want higher Constitution and Strength, so he assigns the +2 to Strength and the +1 to Constitution. He doesn't mind having low Intelligence and Charisma so he assigns the other -2s to them. However, he doesn't want negative Dexterity or Wisdom, so instead, he assigns both the -1 and the +1 to either of them, canceling out the negative and positive modifier. Borjand's attribute scores now look like this: 12 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 11 Constitution, 8 Intelligence, 10 Wisdom and 8 Charisma. Choosing a Class The second step is usually choosing your class, although you can do any of these steps in any order you'd like. Your class gives you a minor attribute score bonus and gives you your starting feature package, although you can diverge from your initial idea as a game progresses. Our good friend Borjand wants a melee bruiser, and thus decides on starting with the Warrior class. This gives him a simple +1 Strength and Constitution boost; making his Strength and Constitution 13 and 12, in that order. The class features he gets are detailed in the Warrior section of class features. Choosing a Race The third step is to enforce your character concept with a race you think would fit best. Some races lean more towards a certain play- and lifestyle than others, but it is always possible to break the mold. Every race has a primary attribute, which grants a +2 bonus to that attribute and a secondary attribute which is free to choose from a list of options. Some races, however, have different heritages, each with its own secondary attribute assigned to them. Read the race's specific description, as these are more guidelines on how they work and not every race sticks to them. Every race also has its own racial features, which grants the race specific benefits. An example, our friend Borjand is continuining to make his melee bruiser. He sees the Dwarf race, which grants a +2 to Constitution and a +1 to Strength or Wisdom. He decides to go for Hill Dwarf and picks Strength as his secondary attribute, making his attribute scores: 14 Strength and 14 Constitution; the rest is unchanged. The race features he gets are detailed in the Dwarf section of race features. Choosing a Background The penultimate step is choosing a background for your character concept. This is entirely free to the player. You decide where your character is from, two skills he would be a novice in or one skill he would be an apprentice in (Further details are in the Ability Scores section), as well as two languages or another skill he is a novice in. Additionally, you may increase one ability score of your choosing by 1 and pick one Background Feature. Choosing Equipment Lastly, although this step could have been done piecemeal during the last steps, you must kit your adventurer out with their starting gear. You can either choose the equipment given to you by your race, class, and background, or you may add up the gold given to you by them and buy equipment as you choose.